The Korea Herald

‘JCS chief nominee played golf despite N.K. landmine attack’

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman-nominee Lee Sun-jin was playing golf on Aug. 9 when North Korea was reported to have carried out a landmine provocation that wounded two South Korean troops, an opposition lawmaker revealed Sunday.JCS Chairman-nominee Lee Sun-jin (Yonhap)Kim Kwang-jin of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, criticized his golfing on the day as an “inappropriate” act, raising the question of whether he could perform well in the military’s top position.“While he w

Oct. 4, 2015

‘JCS chief nominee played golf despite N.K. landmine attack’

IAEA chief to visit Seoul for talks on N.K. nukes

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog will visit Seoul this week to meet with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and other officials on ways to denuclearize North Korea, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday.The two-day visit starting on Tuesday by Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will allow for serious discussions on the North Korean nuclear issue as the country threatens to conduct a nuclear and long-range rocket test, the ministry said in a statement.The visit c

Oct. 4, 2015

‘Military Olympics’ kicks off in Mungyeong

More than 7,000 military executives and soldiers from about 120 countries gathered Friday in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, as the world’s largest sports competition among servicemen kicked off with the aim of promoting friendship and peace. Organized by the International Military Sports Council and supervised by Seoul’s Defense Ministry, the Military World Games’ set out for a 10-day run under the theme, “Friendship together, peace forever.” South Korea`s guards of honor perform during

Oct. 2, 2015

‘Military Olympics’ kicks off in Mungyeong

Seoul to develop 800km missile by 2017

South Korea plans to complete its development and deployment of a ballistic missile with a range of 800 kilometers by 2017, as it seeks to counter the evolving nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea.Military sources said that the state-run Agency for Defense Development had put forward the plan in its five-year policy outline, which was adopted right after the Park Geun-hye administration assumed office in February 2013.“Currently, we have developed ballistic missiles with a range of u

Oct. 1, 2015

Defense minister requests public support for military

Defense Minister Han Min-koo sought Thursday to drum up public support for his troops as South Korea marked the 67th anniversary of the military's founding."The military is making its utmost efforts to fulfill its duty to rush to where it's most needed and to safeguard the life and property of the people," Han said in his Armed Forces Day message.The military deserves public support only when they stick to their duty, he said, appealing to the people to "extend greater trust and love" toward the

Oct. 1, 2015

Korea to develop 800-km range missiles by 2017

South Korea is pushing to finish its development of ballistic missiles with a range of 800 kilometers by 2017 to deploy them against North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile capacities, officials said Thursday."The Agency for Defense Development has proposed the year 2017 as the time frame for the extension of its ballistic missiles' range in a five-year development plan," one government official said, referring to the defense development agency's road map under the Park Geun-hye administrati

Oct. 1, 2015

Korea to develop 800-km range missiles by 2017

Senior Japanese defense official to visit Seoul

Japan plans to dispatch a senior defense official to a military athlete competition scheduled to kick off this week in Korea and is expected to discuss security cooperation with policymakers here, sources said Wednesday. The three-day trip from Thursday by Parliamentary Vice Defense Minister Kenji Harada came after Tokyo shelved its initial plan to send Minister Gen. Nakatani. The visit was chiefly designed for the Military World Games in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, but had boosted ant

Sept. 30, 2015

S. Korea, China to hold joint anti-piracy drill in Gulf of Aden

The navies of South Korea and China will hold a joint anti-piracy drill in the Gulf of Aden, according to China's military on Wednesday, in the latest sign of military cooperation between the two nations. Both South Korea and China have joined international anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia. Rear Adm. Yu Manjiang, commander of China's naval unit in the region, visited South Korean destroyer Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin, which is conducting an anti-piracy

Sept. 30, 2015

S. Korea to dispatch military engineers to conflict zones

President Park Geun-hye said Monday that South Korea will dispatch additional military engineers to conflict zones as it steps up efforts to boost U.N. peacekeeping operations."They will be assisting reconstruction and humanitarian activities in conflict zones," Park said in the leader's summit on peacekeeping at the U.N. that was co-chaired by U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.Still, Park did not provide details as to the size and specific countries to which Sou

Sept. 29, 2015

Koreas likely to meet next week for religious chiefs' gathering

The Unification Ministry is expected to approve plans by officials of South Korea's pan-religious group to visit North Korea next week to prepare for talks among the two Koreas' religious leaders, a government source said Friday. Officials from the Korean Conference of Religion for Peace (KCRP), an organization representing the South's seven largest religious groups, are likely to hold a meeting with their North Korean counterparts in the border city of Kaesong on Tuesday, the source said.

Sept. 25, 2015

Korea opens probe into suspicious KF-X project

Cheong Wa Dae, South Korean presidential office, has opened its probe into the military's landmark indigenous fighter jet project amid growing suspicions over the multibillion-dollar defense acquisition program, according to a military official Friday. "Cheong Wa Dae's senior secretary for civil affairs' office demanded on Thursday the Defense Acquisition Program Administration submit documents related to the KF-X project," the military official said on condition of anonymity. An artist's r

Sept. 25, 2015

Korea opens probe into suspicious KF-X project

Failed tech transfer may delay fighter jet project

Prospects are growing gloomy for Korea’s push to develop an indigenous fighter jet after the country’s arms buyer was found to have failed to secure the transfer of core technologies from the U.S. firm selected to deliver next-generation warplanes. Last September, the state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration agreed with Maryland-based Lockheed Martin Corp. to acquire 25 technologies as part of their 7.3 trillion won ($6.1 billion) deal to purchase 40 F-35 radar-evading fighters to be

Sept. 24, 2015

Failed tech transfer may delay fighter jet project

S. Korean, Chilean navy chiefs agree on increasing naval exchanges

Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Jung Ho-sup and his Chilean counterpart, Adm. Enrique Larranaga, agreed Thursday to expand naval exchanges between their countries, the Navy said. During their meeting held earlier in the day in the Naval Academy in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, the navy chiefs also discussed the security situation of the Korean Peninsula and a joint naval education program, the Navy said in a statement. Also discussed were ways to expand the role of the Chilean military attache

Sept. 24, 2015

S. Korea begins making mini drones to surveil N. Korea

South Korea began to churn out mini-size drones Wednesday to better surveil North Korea's military activities along the land and sea borders, the defense acquisition agency said. Local drone manufacturer UCON System delivered its first batch of the unmanned aerial vehicles, known as the Remoeye-002B, after three years of development, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said in a statement. Measuring 1.4 meters long and 1.8 m wide, the drones can fly at a maximum speed of 80 kilome

Sept. 23, 2015

Gen. MacArthur had planned to transfer controls to S. Korea during Korean War

U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur had voiced willingness to return controls to South Korea's first president after leading a military operation to recapture Seoul from invading North Korean troops during the 1950-53 Korean War, a document showed Wednesday. Gen. MacArthur led an amphibious operation, named "the Incheon landing mission" on Sept. 15, 1950, as the commander of the Allied Forces which fought against North Korean troops during the three-year conflict. The operation helped turn the tide f

Sept. 23, 2015

S. Korea, U.S. start defense talks amid looming N. Korean missile launch

South Korean and U.S. defense officials were to begin their annual two-day senior-level talks on Wednesday to discuss countermeasures on North Korea's possible long-range missile launch in the coming weeks. The Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) will run from Wednesday to Thursday in the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, with each side headed by Yoo Jeh-seung, deputy minister for policy, and Abraham Denmark, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, and Elaine Bunn,

Sept. 23, 2015

THAAD will cost 3tr won: Air Force chief

Stationing an advanced U.S. missile defense unit on the peninsula will cost around 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion), the new Air Force chief of staff said Tuesday, though he reasserted that South Korea and the U.S. are not currently in talks over its purchase.“It should be about, give or take, 3 trillion won,” Gen. Jeong Kyeong-doo said in response to Rep. Kim Kwang-jin of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy during a parliamentary audit at the Air Force’s headquarters in the Gye

Sept. 22, 2015

THAAD will cost 3tr won: Air Force chief

Navy faces compensation claim over delayed naval base project

The Navy is facing a compensation claim worth more than 23 billion won ($19.5 million) from a construction firm after severe protests delayed a project to build a naval base on Jeju Island, a parliamentary report showed Tuesday. Daelim Engineering & Construction Co., a contractor on the project, has filed a lawsuit, demanding that the Navy pay 23.1 billion won for the loss caused by protesters, the parliamentary report by Rep. Chung Mi-kyung of the ruling Saenuri Party showed. The indemnity c

Sept. 22, 2015

Is Japan really security threat to Korea?

Japan’s passage last week of the controversial legislation to expand its security role is stirring public concerns here, with Seoul officials scurrying to allay them by repeating that Tokyo cannot use its forces at will in a Korean emergency. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attends a parliamentary session. (Yonhap)Amid the growing angst over Japan loosening its postwar stricture on the use of force, the issue of whether the country is really a potential security threat to Korea, as it was i

Sept. 21, 2015

Is Japan really security threat to Korea?

Most families of dead soldiers get compensation via suits

Though more than 100 soldiers die while on active duty each year, the majority of their bereaved families receive state compensation through civil lawsuits, a report showed Monday, underscoring their years-long struggle that adds to the already tragic losses. According to Rep. Lim Nae-hyun of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, the government has provided compensation for their deaths as a result of litigation in all cases but one since 2012. Of the 26 suits raised, six grou

Sept. 21, 2015